A look at the openSUSE board election
The election to replace outgoing openSUSE board members is underway, with four candidates vying for three seats. The election was initially scheduled to be completed in December, but the timeline was extended due to too few candidates standing for the seats. Voting closes on February 2 and the results are expected to be announced on February 3.
The openSUSE board is tasked with leading the overall project, acting as a central point of contact, helping to resolve conflicts, facilitating communication and decision-making processes, and initiating discussions about new project-wide initiatives. The board has six members, five are elected by the members of the project, and the board chairperson is appointed by SUSE. The outgoing members are Douglas DeMaio, Neal Gompa, and Patrick Fitzgerald. Board members are limited to two consecutive roughly two-year terms and then they must sit out an election period before running again. Gompa is term-limited this time around; DeMaio and Fitzgerald are not running for second terms.
Only members of the openSUSE project are allowed to run for the board. The criteria for membership is ""contribution in a measurable way"" to the project, and approval by the openSUSE membership team, which is appointed by the board.